Kazakhstan punishes oil protest police

The Kazakh government has jailed five police officers for their actions in 2011 oil worker protests. In December security forces suppressed a protest by oil workers in Zhanaozen in southwestern Kazakhstan. While the government acknowledged that at least 15 workers died in the confrontation, opposition figures put the death toll at more than 70, Rosskoe Informatsionne Agentsvo news agency reported Tuesday. Kazakh human rights activists posted video footage on the Internet appearing to show police firing on a number of occasions as protesters fled from security forces. Protesters called for the resignation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his government. The incident has proven a severe embarrassment to the Nazarbayev's administration, which has portrayed itself as a progressive and democratic government apportioning the country's rising oil revenues to bettering its citizens' lives. The European Parliament "strongly condemned the violent crackdown by the police forces."